


Little Red Riding Rabbit and Mr Wolf

by Charonic



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-09-24 16:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9769721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charonic/pseuds/Charonic
Summary: Lavi has always had a penchant for anything that's not from the human realm. When his friends warned him to stay out of the woods because of a rumoured "werewolf", he didn't exactly heed their advice. All the books that he's ever read about on faefolks didn't prepare him for who he met in those woods. [LUCKY (Tyki x Lavi); Fairy Tale AU]





	1. Chapter 1- The Beginning Of Winter Is Always Solemn But Interesting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, Charonic here! I posted this story on FF first, decided to put it here as well :V The story takes place in a fairy tale-esque universe and almost everyone is a kind of fairy tale character espy. Lavi is of course red riding hood! Have fun guessing who everyone else is :3c 
> 
> Without further ado, read ahead and enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

**The Beginning Of Winter Is Always Solemn But Interesting**

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

Since he was a child, Lavi has always had this fascination with fae folks and their legends. Anything that doesn't belong in the human realm is sure to catch his attention, any tale that speaks of supernatural phenomenon never fails to have him listen intently, you can practically see his eyes shimmer with awe whenever he does.

His love for strange tales and stranger beings never ceased as he grew older. Most teenagers his age would wave off folklore as childish nonsense that's only meant to serve as bedtime stories for little kids, but with Lavi he still soughs out for any new reading materials that he can get his hands on.

Problem with the town he's living in as of now is, the library and bookshops don't have any books that he _hasn't_ read yet.

"Lavi, come on!"

Allen's voice rang pass his ears and his eye caught sight of a blurry shade of white run past him. The commotion managed to bring Lavi back down from the clouds, but the abruptness of it had the red head almost drop his newest book on Selkies into the fountain.

Allen was already a few good metres away from where Lavi was, his body half turned towards his red haired companion.

"Let's go, Lena and Kanda are waiting!"

There was a faint sheen of sweat on Allen's forehead, the boy likely ran all the way from his house to the centre of town for that to happen. Lavi's lips curled into a smile as he placed his book back into his satchel before getting off the fountain's stone edge. He watched Allen bounce on his heels ever so subtlety as he made his way to the younger teen.

"I swear you're only rushing me because Lenalee made rice cakes for us today."

He was met with Allen's wide grin in return. "Can you blame me? They're just that good."

"You're addicted." Lavi snorted with a slight roll of his eye. His smile took on a cheekier edge as he leaned down close to Allen. "Pretty sure all that glutton is bad for you." He poked at Allen's stomach, yet again amazed that there was only a slight pudgy middle. The kid eats so much yet never gains much weight (if at all), lucky brat.

When Allen smacked his hand away, Lavi had to snicker. Both at Allen's displeased huff and his impatience when food is involved.

Lavi can't help but think it was a mistake to introduce rice cakes into Allen's life, then again no one knew he would come to love the treat so much.

His stomach gave out a quiet rumble, all this food talk has made Lavi wonder what kind of rice cake the Lee family has prepared for them (Allen) today. He glanced at his satchel for a moment, there was only a few pages left on his book, he could finish it when he's at Lenalee's place. Or after he's done with Bookman's work, whichever one works.

"Lavi, let's _go_!" Allen hollered from afar, the boy was already way ahead of the redhead.

_Yes, a mistake indeed._

 

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

They got puffed rice cakes. Not Lavi's favourite, but still tasty nonetheless.

After helping the Lee siblings bring in heavy wooden crates of empty glass vials-plus unpacking, cleaning them individually, placing them in the storeroom, checking for any ill-fitted corks-they finally settled down in the small dining area, tired but satisfied with the rice cakes Lenalee provided them.

Lavi sat across where a large wooden cabinet was, the panels were made from glass and he can see some of the vials that Kanda had arranged inside. It won't be long until they're all filled to the brim with Komui as their owner. He wondered what weird new concoction Komui was going make this time round, hopefully nothing _too_ disastrous.

Lenalee's elder brother, Komui, is one of the town's doctors. The townsfolk trust him and his vast medical knowledge despite his method being mostly unheard of in this region. He's known to be quite the eccentric fellow by everyone because of his tendency to experiment around with herbs. He's probably the only guy around this part of the land who's still learning and trying to create new alternative cures using methods that were deemed ineffective by renowned researchers.

 _Doctor by day; 'mad scientist' by night_ , or so Lenalee once said.

"Thank you so much for helping us with the moving." Komui said with a grateful smile. "It would've taken me hours had it only been me doing the work."

"No biggie, we're glad we could help!" Lavi answered, his smile just as wide and genuine.

Beside him, Kanda grunted what sounded like an agreement. And Allen nodding vigorously next to him with a mouth full of rice cakes. The three very different responses made Komui laugh a bit.

"I'm still glad you were about to lend a hand. I couldn't let my dear Lena do it, I'd rather bear the back pain myself."

"Brother..." Lenalee murmured, looking both peeved and embarrassed at her brother, who in turn flashed her toothy grin, but stopped his gushing regardless.

Allen and Lavi shared a wryly smile with each other at how oblivious Komui is when it comes to his sister's physical strength. He would've loved to mention how she managed to lift Allen up off the ground this one time, but that would be sending his friend and _himself_ into an u painful death.

"Is there anything else?" Kanda asked.

"No, that's about all that needs to be done. I've troubled you all enough today." Komui gave them another smile before turning to leave for the kitchen. "Eat up! You'll need the energy after all that hard labour."

And with that, the man went off to prepare food for dinner, leaving Lenalee and the others in the dining area. The silence wasn't uncomfortable between them, but the mountainous pile of rice cakes set in the middle of the table felt... overbearing.

There was a few hours to spare before dinner time, but Lavi didn't want to spoil his appetite from overstuffing himself, he still ate a few blocks of the puffed rice cakes though.

He sat there twirling what's left of his rice cake chunk while watching his friends talk about mundane things. Usually he'd be joining in with the chat, adding a joke here, a pun there, some informative stuff that he's read about. Today he decided to let the others' voices fill the room, only nodding and giving a small laugh whenever Kanda said something snarky.

Maybe it's the seasonal change that's making him feel so quiet, even when he's among his friends. Winter was never his favourite season.

Some time passed and before they knew it, the sun was beginning to leave them of its light and warmth. The darkening sky meant it was about time Lavi left to find Bookman. He sighed, a guy can't even eat some rice cakes with his friends without worrying about _more_ work.

He popped the remaining bit of rice cake into his mouth and grabbed his satchel before getting up. The squeaking noise his chair made got the others' attention, Lena was the first to ask.

"You're leaving already?"

Lavi forced a smile, it came out looking apologetic and sheepish. "Sorry guys, I have to help gramps with his work."

He wasn't too fond with the silence that came after that, nor stares that he was being given.

"Being Bookman's apprentice doesn't come with days off, huh?" Allen spoke up with a mouth full of chewed rice cakes.

"Hey, that's not true! I get to fool around plenty, and it's not like gramps keeps me on a tight leash or anything."

While his voice was full of lighthearted jest, Lavi's eyes didn't quite meet with the smile he was flashing.

Allen was right though... Bookman always gives him tons of work, and just as much books to read and memorize. He does get a break from time to time, but as of late Bookman has been giving more assignments than usual. And Lavi can't help but think it's probably because his grandfather planned on passing down his position soon.

He's getting old after all, Lavi mused.

Not to mention he's turning nineteen in a few months, there was a good chance Bookman will want him to succeed his title when that time comes. He didn't realize his smile slipped off some time ago, his face now sporting a tired frown, one that the others could see.

"You guys know where to find me, so drop by whenever you're free this weekend."

He heard Kanda's exasperated sigh and looked up.

"Bookman's house is on the other side of the woods." He said, giving Lavi a pointed look. "It takes an hour more or less to get there on foot. I'm not about to waste precious time just to see your dumb face, rabbit brat."

_Good ol' Kanda._

Somehow the less than warm response lifted Lavi's mood a bit.

"You know I wonder why Bookman doesn't want to move into town... I mean, he _is_ getting old and wouldn't you be able to keep a better eye on him if he lived closer?" Allen asked. Lavi noted how there were crumbs around his face, and the way Kanda was looking at him with mild disgust.

"He's a stubborn old panda," Lavi said, a snort followed after. "Man if I call him old in front of him again he'll throw another book at my head."

A pause, then, "And! You can actually reach his house under twenty minutes if you walk through the woods." Lavi finished with a proud huff, his eye closed and his smile wide like he'd won an argument.

His friends don't share the same sentiment, in fact all three of them looked at Lavi with a mixture of shock, bewilderment and worry. Of course the red head didn't sense the tense air in the room when he's too busy being surrounded by his own imaginary victory.

"Lavi, the woods are dangerous to walk through. Especially alone." Lenalee's voice was unusually hushed. Kanda whipped his head to look at Lena, then back to Lavi.

"Wait, don't tell me the rabbit brat's been taking that route-" _Oh dear here we go._

"Only recently!" Lavi loud retort managed to at least stop Kanda from giving him an earful, he only wished it would help him with the looks he was being given from his friends. He hung his head and let out a dejected sigh, shuffling his feet ever so slightly under their stares.

"I mean, I only did it once or twice..." The red head murmured, "I was carrying a lot of stuff and my feet were hurting and there was still a long distance to go before I could get there so I cut through the forest..."

None of his friends seem pleased with this newly discovered information, especially Lenalee. She found it fitting to be the one who breaks the news first.

"Lavi, haven't you heard? About the rumours."

That got his attention.

"What rumours?" Lavi asked.

He saw how Lenalee's throat seemed to tighten up before she went on, her voice even lower than before. "There are wolves there."

Kanda rolled his eyes when Lavi's face remained unfazed. Of course the rabbit brat doesn't think wolves are a big deal. "Not just normal grey wolves, idiot."

"Werewolves." Lena finished.

"I wouldn't call them werewolves per say." Allen piped in, and Kanda shot him a levelled look for interrupting that the younger boy ignored. "Not sure of the term but, they're more like shape shifters. Think Selkies like in the book you're reading, but like, wolf and not seal."

Another moment of tense silence fell between them, Lavi looked at his friends with a look that can only be described as incredulous and surprise, his mouth slighty ajar from what Allen had said.

"You guys... believe in those things?"

"Oh please, like you're one to talk." Kanda scoffed as he crossed his arms over the front of his shirt. Allen and Lenalee stifled a laugh beside him, the former failing to suppress his laughter when Lavi fumed with cheeks pink and puffy.

"Ugh, whatever." Lavi used his free hand to pull his red cloak off the chair before stepping away from the table. His friends were still staring at him, they were giving him the same unimpressed paternal look.

"...Alright fine, I'll stop taking the short cut."

 _That_ finally got them to stop, in an instant their faces morphed back into the default expressions they have on all the time. Lenalee with her golden sunshine smile, same with Allen, and Yu with his grumpy stink face.

When had his friends become as overbearing as that stack of rice cake from earlier?

While in amidst of his pouting, Lenalee had taken a few pieces of the leftover rice cakes off the plate and wrapped them in a linen cloth.

"Here, take some back with you. If Bookman can't eat them, well, more snacks at night for you!"

Lavi didn't miss the jab about gramp's old man teeth, he grinned at the cheeky remark and reached for the wrapped treat.

"See you guys in a few days."

Kanda emitted a grunt as he bit into his partially eaten piece whilst Lenalee waved him goodbye at the door.

"Bye, Lavi. Remember to stay on the path!" Allen called out from behind him, waving both hands at the red head's turned back.

Lavi returned the gesture with a lazy wave of his hand over his cloaked shoulder before he shut the door closed.

**...**

**..**

**.**

 

_**To Be Continued** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now! Don't worry, you gonna see Tyki in the next chapter ;3 
> 
> Do tell me what you think so far! I don't have a solid plot as of now, though it's going to be going at a leisurely pace with some good ol' fluff. Gimme some cute ideas if you guys have any though! 
> 
> For now I bid everyone adieu, see you guys in the next update ovo/ 
> 
> Charonic, out xoxo


	2. Chapter 2- Curious and Curiouser

**Chapter 2**

**Curious and Curiouser**

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

Lavi did not stay on the path. In fact, he's already half way through the thick forest.

He did feel a _tinge_ of guilt for lying to his friends, but in his defence who in their right mind would take an hour long walk in late November when the air was practically ice cold. Even with his fixed winter cloak on, there was no way he wouldn't end up with a runny nose by the time he got to Bookman's house.

The edge of his red hood was sewn with rabbit fur, courtesy of Lena last autumn.  It did its job in keeping him warm with the extra fluff, but even so he didn't want to risk getting sick, not when this year's winter looked like it was going to be colder than the last.

Besides, it shouldn't be long until he's out of the woods. The sky may be a dark gray right now, but that's just how it is in winter. The sun's ray disappears just minutes after the clock strikes three, and it's only going to get darker, Lavi kept that in mind as he quickened his pace.

The conversation with his friends about shape shifting wolves came back, and Lavi found himself wondering if his grandfather had any new books on them.

He's heard of faes that take the shape of other animals to fool humans, but not one that specifically turn into that of a wolf. He's heard of black dogs, but those only linger around in graveyards. Or maybe their _default_ form is a wolf but they have the ability to turn human? Would they look exactly like a normal human being? Or would there be tall tell signs of animalistic traits like patches of wolf fur on their body? What if they retained the fluffy tail? What if--

"Oof!"

A loud thump followed immediately after his indignant yelp. Lavi winced as the stinging pain on his backside shot up his spine. Being distracted while walking on wet ground is not a smart thing to do, he noted dryly.

He heard shuffling, and then a pair of leathered shoes came into view. As he reached a hand behind him to rub at his tailbone, the person he'd bumped into kneeled down on one leg, a gloved hand stretched out in front of his face.

"Are you alright?"

Lavi managed a weak smile before he replied."Yeah... Sorry about--"

What he was supposed to say next  completely left Lavi's mind when he looked up, his smile fell and expression replaced with stunned awe. Lavi didn't even realize his mouth was hanging open until he felt the surface of his tongue go dry, no thanks to the chilly weather. He promptly clamp his mouth shut, making the man before him chuckle, and Lavi's face turn redder in turn.

The man before him was handsome, there was no denying it. With dark brown skin and inky black hair that fell into soft waves at his neck. And those eyes, they reminded Lavi of honey. He's always loved munching on raw honeycombs.

Lavi was so enthralled with the other's face that he didn't catch what the man was saying, despite having both eyes glued to the way his mouth moved to form words.

_Ah, right. The guy just offered to help him up._

"Sorry! Yeah, I wasn't ... I should get up, huh?" Lavi ended his question with a short laugh to hide his nervousness. There was a chance he wasn't caught staring and Lavi was going to hang onto that sliver of hope.

He reached out to grab the man's hand, albeit gingerly and with a bit of hesitance. It was less of a hold but more like Lavi grasping the tip of his gloved fingers with his own loosely. Once Lavi was up and steady on his feet, he gave his trousers a quick dusting when the man spoke up again.

"I believe I'm the one who should be apologizing." He said. "I was lost in thought while walking."

 _That makes the two of us._ Lavi offered a crooked smile and shook his head. "It's okay. I'm fine, really."

The man returned Lavi's smile with a genuine one of his own, the same hand that pulled Lavi up extended out for a handshake.

"A good evening to you, my name is Tyki Mikk. You are?"

Lavi looked down at the outstretched hand, and then back up to Tyki Mikk's face. He was asking for a simple exchange of pleasantries, yet the red head felt as though he should back away from the man.

There was something off about him that he can't seem to pinpoint, minus the fact that Lavi has never seen the guy in town before, suddenly appearing in the woods that no one but Lavi was stupid enough to walk through was another possible reason for his suspicion.

Or _maybe you're just over thinking again._

Shrugging the feeling off, he took Tyki's hand.

"Lavi. Lavi Bookman."

The feeling of unease came back again when he saw the wide grin on Tyki's face. Lavi had to quell the urge to pull away, his heart was beating so fast all of a sudden.

_Human canines should not be that sharp._

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lavi Bookman." Tyki replied, it was a soft whisper that's meant only for Lavi to hear.  

He'd expected a brief handshake, but then Tyki lifted his hand up and planted a kiss on his knuckles. It was impossible for Lavi not to gasp at the brushing contact.

The man's lips lingered on Lavi's hand longer than should be considered a polite hand kiss. Lavi pulled his hand back as though he'd been burned when he felt the other man's breathe tickle the surface of his skin. He knew his face was still slightly pinkish from his earlier blunder but there was no doubt he was bright red now.

"Umm... Just Lavi is fine, y'know." He'd made an attempt to sound curt and standoffish, because who wouldn't after _that_?

Imagine his embarrassment when his voice came out more sheepish than anything else. What made it worse was the amused laughter that followed when he was caught shoving the kissed hand into his inner cloak pocket. Damn that smirk on Tyki's face.  

The laugh quickly died down and Tyki returned the conversation in a calmer manner. But Lavi can tell he was holding back a few more leftover chuckles.

"In that case, just call me Tyki."

Lavi nodded slowly, his eyes drifted away from Tyki's face to observe the man's attire. It wasn't until then did Lavi realize how well dressed the brunet was, he raised both his brows as he took in Tyki's appearance.  

Overall he reminded Lavi of those aristocrats that would sometimes pass by the town. His coat was tailored to a perfect fit for his statute, no doubt the materials were high quality textiles. Lavi wouldn't be surprised if the rest of his clothing articles were just as pricey. From the top hat to the pristine white gloves.

Tyki was too busy looking around his surroundings to notice Lavi's blatant staring, his face was enough to convey just how lost and confused he was with his current problem. There was only so much a person can take before bursting out laughing at how endearing a grown man looked while puzzled, and Lavi doesn't know if he'll last the next minute if Tyki keeps it up.

He let out a soft cough to steer Tyki's attention back to him, the brunet's face turned sheepish when facing Lavi again.

 "...I seem to have lost my way." Tyki admitted.  

"You should've stayed on the path then." Lavi answered without missing a beat, he even paired the confident reply with a careless shrug. The fact he didn't wince even a bit at his own hypocrisy was an incredible feat.

"Suppose I should have." Tyki agreed, nodding as he did so. "Would you mind taking me into town? I'm due to meet someone there for some business but then ah, here I am."

That roused Lavi's suspicion again, his brows furrowed at what he'd said.

It was strange how an aristocratic looking man like Tyki would choose to wander into the woods without any escort.  Maybe he's one of those sheltered rich heirs who are blissfully oblivious to the dangers of the outside world. Looking at Tyki though, Lavi doubts that's the case with him.

Lavi pursed his lips together, there was no harm in leading the lost guy to town. But by the time he made his way back to Bookman, it would already be pitch dark even if he took the shortcut. Carrying a torch or oil lamp wouldn't provide him with much light or warmth, not when nightfall comes . The last thing he wanted was to make Bookman leave the house to search for him during a cold night.  

"I'm sorry... I would help ya out of here but my grandfather is expecting me, and I don't wanna make him worry."

"Your grandfather?" Tyki asked. His confused expression was quickly replaced with one of recognition when he realized what Lavi meant.

"Oh, the little cottage on the opposite direction? You live with him there?" He pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

Lavi nodded. "Yeah, and I should be getting home soon."

He didn't miss the flash of disappointment in Tyki's eyes, though he was curious of the reason for that, Lavi didn't make any further comment.

"I see, that's a shame." Tyki sighed.  

"Sorry..."

Tyki shook his head, an understanding smile on his softened face. "It's perfectly fine, Lavi. It's never good to make your family worried, especially out in this weather."

The redhead found himself smiling too, just a bit.

A strong breeze blew by and Lavi shivered as he pulled his cloak closer, the rabbit fluff around the hood tickled his nose and chin but they managed to give him more warmth like that. Tyki didn't seem to be bothered by the sudden cold wind, it's like he didn't even notice the breeze. Whatever fabric his coat was made of, Lavi would love to have some of it for a new cloak.

"Just keep heading straight, if you pick up the pace you'll reach the town in no time." Lavi said from underneath his fluffy hood.

He wasn't sure if Tyki heard him, with his voice muffled by the rabbit fur and all. But the man smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thank you." Tyki said.

Then he started walking, Lavi stayed where he was watching Tyki move along the winding path, only for him to stop after a few steps and turn around again.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Lavi. I hope we can see each other again sometime soon, preferably when the weather isn't so gloom and dreary."

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Lavi waved him goodbye, a timid smile on his face. "Have a safe trip."

Tyki returned the gesture with a broad grin and a tip of his hat before he turned to leave.

The redhead stood in place as he watched Tyki walk away for good this time, he told himself that it wasn't an excuse to observe the way the other man's hips moved, or because he wanted to get a better look at Tyki's broad shoulders and his overall silhouette. Not at all.

Maybe his eye was getting blurry from the cold, or it could be because he was staring for too long but...

He could've sworn he saw what looked like the tip of a bushy, black tail peeking out from underneath Tyki's coat.  

**...**

**..**

**.**

 

_**To Be Continued** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoy! Sorry for the late update guys, school had me grounded orz 
> 
> So now Lavi's finally met our favourite Tyki-pon, wonder what's going to happen next :3c As usual, please tell me what you think of this chapter! You can even give some suggestions on what scenarios should I have happen in the future too!
> 
> I'll see you guys til the next update, bye bye for now! Charonic, out!


	3. Alone, But Not For Long

**Chapter 3**

**Alone, but not for long**

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

The grey sky was quickly darkening into pitch black with each passing minute. By the time Lavi reached his grandfather’s cottage he was almost too late.

Had he not picked up the pace after seeing Tyki off, he might as well be spending another hour in the dark woods with nothing except the stars as his only dim light source to guild him back home. The idea of wandering around unarmed in a dark forest had Lavi shivering from fear.  

He couldn’t help but wonder if Tyki made it to town safely, the man was new around these parts of the woods after all. Hopefully he took Lavi’s advice and kept walking straight on.

Once again the thought of being stuck alone in an eerily dark forest invaded his thoughts.

Lavi shook his head. No use in worrying about him now though, he’ll just have to hope the man made it to town before the sun was completely gone. His biggest concern at the moment should be focused on his own self. No doubt he was getting an earful from Bookman for coming home late.

Well, he _believed_ he was late anyway. The wooden cuckoo clock in the sitting area showed he’d arrived at approximately a quarter past five, plenty of time to help prepare dinner.

As he took off his cloak, Lavi’s eyes glanced around their tiny sitting area for his grandfather. His guardian would always be seen writing up something in one of those thick leather-bound books on his aged study table, and always facing the window. The short stool was absent of any scribbling elder.

“Lavi?” Bookman called from the kitchen area.

“Gramps?”

He was removing his wet boots when his grandfather emerged from the warm kitchen, the elderly man’s forehead seemed dam from sweat.

“Ah, you’re finally home. Come help me set the table, you’re just in time for dinner.”

“You’ve already cooked?” Lavi asked, surprised.

He turned to look at their cuckoo clock once more to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. Only three minutes had passed since he’d arrived. Dinner before six? For this small household of two, it was unheard of.  

Bookman gave a noncommittal grunt, his back already turned to Lavi as he went back into the kitchen. “We’ll be having an early dinner tonight. I have some things to discuss with you.”

Lavi tensed at his grandfather’s words. For as long as he’s lived with Bookman, not once have these _discussions_ during dinner been anything but a droning lecture of some small, silly mistake that he made on accident.  

Tonight will be no different, he may as well be prepared for another lecture. Lavi sighed as he went to fetch the plates and utensils, all the while thinking what he might have done wrong this time.

 

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

An earful he did not receive much to his surprise and relief, mostly relief. Instead they talked about Bookman’s new job and how long he’ll be away for, what he’d be doing and so on.

The Bookman family has been in the book preserving business for as long as books existed. They’re known for their sturdy yet delicate craftsmanship, an art form passed down generation to generation. To Lavi and his grandfather, it’s a way of life.

It’s a tedious path that required absolute perfection, it’s unfortunate that family members both close and distant have abandoned this lifestyle in favour of working a more financially stable job, and so these days Bookmen have become scarce. It’s not surprising for Lavi and his grandfather to receive job offerings from towns and countries away when there are no existing Bookmen living there.

The two of them have travelled to many places, settling in one area long enough to complete an assignment before moving on to the next. Their current residence was by far their longest of three years, and it didn’t look like Bookman was about to move again. Lavi hopes to settle here permanently, he quite like the friends he made here.

Bookman’s new job this time however, didn’t require Lavi to follow along. This was the first time they’ll be separated for more than a day. The redhead suddenly found it difficult to finish the rest of his bread at the news.

“But what about my training?”

Bookman did not look up from his food, instead he just lifted his spoon and gestured to the side. “There isn’t much to learn on this job, I’m just going to be rebinding a set of family memoirs. You should stay home and finish those up before the first snow falls.”

Lavi glanced to the stack of unfinished books sitting on a spare dining chair, its towering form wobbled at the slightest whenever someone walks past. Suppose it wasn’t wise to pile them all up like that but you learn to make do with a cottage this size that’s so closely filled to the brim with dusty tomes.

He let out a sigh, just looking at the amount of boring work he’ll have to do was enough to tire him out if that were even possible. Bookman saw the way he slumped slightly down the chair and shook his head.

“You have two more years of pupilage left. Trust me, by the time you’re a full fled bookman, the workload you won’t have time to take your long naps anymore.”

That honestly did not make Lavi feel any better. He quite liked his midday naps, even if they sometimes extended to five hours. He proceeded to groan and slide down further. The soup was definitely not going down the hatch either.

“When are you leaving anyway?”

“Tomorrow.” Bookman replied.

“Tomorrow?!”

“At dawn.”

“ _Dawn?!”_

Bookman scoffed. “If you continue to squawk like that you’re going to end with the brain of a parrot, I swear.”

“You’re insinuating that parrots are dumb.”

“I said nothing of that sort, they’re smart chattering things but they lack disposable thumbs needed for tying up loose book stems.”

Lavi huffed. Way to discredit a highly intelligent bird for not having thumbs. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”

“I received the message this morning after you left, it was urgent according to them.”

Odd, there wasn’t any letters in their mailbox when Lavi checked in the morning. He crinkled his nose at the thought of being left to his own. Why stay home and do work when he could follow along for a chance of discovering something new? Lavi proceeded to whine.

“Cease your childish whining, brat. If it makes you complain less, I’ll get you some new books.”

He just turned nineteen not long ago, but of course his grandfather insist on calling him ‘junior’ and ‘brat’, has been for as long as he could remember. He’ll ignore the name this time in favour of some new reading materials. And he knows exactly what he wanted this time.

“Get me something on werewolves, please?”

Bookman raised a grey eyebrow at him. He looked oddly skeptical at Lavi’s request, which in turn made Lavi feel a bit confused at his reaction. It’s not like his grandfather wasn’t aware of his fondness for these sorts of books. For a man of logic, Bookman has never dismissed his interest on the supernatural as childish or silly, it was something Lavi was grateful for.

“I’ll see what I can find.” Bookman finally said. “Finish your food and get to work, I’ll take care of the dishes tonight.”

Lavi spared the leaning tower of books one last glance before turning to his dinner. Sighing, Lavi ripped out another chunk of bread and ate it. He’s going to need the energy to get some work done tonight.

 

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

It was about eleven when both he and Bookman retired to bed. His grandfather was already fast asleep in his cot in their shared room. Lavi however, was still wide awake despite having done quite a bit of work on those worn books. At least he knew it wasn’t because of his poor appetite during dinner.

His eyes shifted to outside his foggy window. The stars provided just enough lights to see the outlines of the woods, had it been a full moon that night he would be able to easily see the trees. The only perk about living a distance away from town was probably this. He was allowed to enjoy the night sky to its fullest without lamplights and brightly lit stores and houses to hinder the stars.

It would’ve been nice if the moon was out on a sleepless night like this, though he would feel bad for any poor unfortunate soul who decided to go trotting about in the woods during the night of a full moon were there really wolves lurking like his friends had said.

His wandering mind returned to the events that took place earlier in the evening. Tyki Mikk’s smiling face resurfaced from his memory, clear and vivid.

Lavi wasn’t about to deny he didn’t want to see the man again, his reasons were superficial at first. Tyki had a handsome face that he found attractive. The man gave off an alluring vibe and Lavi was intrigued.

But now his current fixation on Tyki lies mostly on a tail that might not even be real. No doubt it’d be weird to try and inspect for any signs of a bushy tail attached to the man but Lavi was _that_ curious, and he’s determined to find out the truth once and for all.  

In any case it wasn’t like he didn’t want to learn more about Tyki, even if he didn’t turn out to be some kind of unworldly fae. No loss there, he thinks. _Maybe._ As long as he doesn’t catch Lavi trying to look for a tail on him, not sure how many people wouldn’t be turned off by that.  

He really should try to get some sleep. Dawn will come soon, and once he sees Bookman off there’ll be a few errands that still needs to be done, after that it’s straight back to work. There was hope that he might run into Tyki while in town, better to see the real person than imagine scenarios in his head.

He kept that thought in mind as Lavi attempted to fall asleep.

 

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

It was clear that a mere three hour sleep wasn’t enough for Lavi. He at least was able to function somewhat coherently with the packing. His lethargic face and slumped posture could use some work though, especially when his grandfather was not shy about smacking his back straight with a slipper.

“Gramps!” Even his whines lacked the usual gusto that dawn.

Bookman merely shook his head as he picked up a wrapped satchel of hard cheese and cured meat, the one Lavi packed for him.

“I’m nearing my nineties and I still have more energy than you.”

 _Ouch._ “That’s because you get a full six hour sleep every night.”

His grandfather grunted at the weak excuse but said nothing more. It was mostly nonverbal silence between them after that, with only the sound of feet shuffling against the ground and creaks from the horse wagon filling the cold air. Their aged mare kept herself busy feeding on hay while her humans are finishing up with the loading.

“Lavi.” Bookman suddenly said after checking his tool box.

‘Yeah, gramps?”

“Make sure you’re inside the house before night falls. Don’t come out again until the sun rises, understand?”

Lavi nodded whilst petting the mare’s soft coat. “Yeah, okay.”

“And remember to lock the doors and windows. Anyone knocking at door in the middle of the night, you just ignore it.”

He nodded again.

“Do you have your dagger?”

Bookman’s next question sobered him up in an instant, like that one time Allen shoved a few ice cubes down the back of his shirt. The redhead turned to make eye contact with his grandfather, the elderly man had a stern look on his face that was different than usual.

“Yeah?” Lavi answered cautiously. “It’s in my chest like always.”

The answer seemed to satisfy his grandfather. “Good, I want you to carry that around with you until I return.” Bookman hopped onto the wagon’s seat with ease for a man his age, gathering the reins all the while as he continued. “Have it on you wherever you go, especially if you’re travelling alone back and fro to town.”

If Lavi wasn’t already confused by his grandfather’s cryptically strange behavior already he certainly was now, added with some frustration from all the enigmatic talk.

“What’s this about gramps? I know this is the first time you’re leaving me on my own but this town is pretty safe. There’s hardly any crimes here and—“

“There have been sightings of some unsavory folks lately, I’d rather have you be prepared for trouble.” Bookman said. “And knowing you, you’re exceptionally good at attracting danger towards yourself.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bookman ignored his huffing, the dismissing lack of reaction made Lavi pout and huff even more. 

“Remember what I told you, lock the doors and windows. And stay inside when it’s dark.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got it already.”

He was given no more warnings from Bookman, only a curt nod. Then he was off, horse trotting and wagon creaking as they headed south.   

“Have a safe trip!” Lavi called after his grandfather’s retreating back.

Soon the wagon’s silhouette disappeared from his sight, that’s when Lavi went back into his cottage.

The sun wasn’t about to show itself until a few more hours. If he started work right away, he may be able to go hang out with Allen and the others in town later. He’ll need to pick up some groceries too after he gave Bookman what remaining food they had in the pantry for travel.

His stomach growled as he was turning a page from someone’s tattered novel, a loud sound that he couldn’t ignore if he tried. It looks like book binding might prove to be a bit more work with an empty stomach.

 

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

In the end he managed to get what work left from the previous night finished, much to Lavi’s own surprise. It took him only two hours to get them all done, stacked up nice and pretty and looking brand new. Now he was on his way to have the books returned back to their rightful owners, his steps carried a slight bounce to them despite the heavy books on him. Two hours, that’s a new record for him!

This time around Lavi took the long way to town, his grandfather’s words about unsavory folks rang in his mind when he was about to take the shortcut again. Even if it was broad daylight, the woods were thick and dark no matter what the sky was like. He didn’t want to risk running into trouble when he’s got a stack of books to carry.

As Bookman had instructed him, Lavi strapped his dagger on his belt before he left the house. Travelling with an empty stomach that demanded to be filled did nothing to help Lavi in his favor, he was beginning to slow down just after a few minutes of walking. He really needed to get some food once he has all these books delivered.

Sometimes he can’t help but wonder why Bookman insisted on living so far away from civilization. It was a hassle travelling to and fro when running errands, resources were hard to reach for (sans the well just minutes away from his house), and his friends hardly came over to hang out because of the distance.

Lavi was busy pondering how he’d convince Bookman to move closer to town when he heard it, soft but audible rustling of leaves from his right.

He slowed to an unsure halt, his whole body felt rigid as he turned slightly to the side, just enough so he could see from the corner of his eye. The rustling started again, it was louder this time but still distant.  

Scared as he was, his terrible curiosity prevailed over fear and Lavi found himself abandoning his swollen messenger bag on the ground before creeping toward the edge of the forest. His nerves relaxed instantly when he spotted what was making those rustling noises.

As he guessed it was a small animal, a rabbit to be precise.

Lavi let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the mass of pitch black fur tumbling around a pile of dead leaves. He would’ve left afterwards, but upon closer inspection on the creature Lavi gasped in shock. The rabbit was injured in the front paw, bleeding purposely from a wound that looked to be caused by a larger animal’s maw.

“Oh no…”

The poor thing was shivering, most likely cold from the harsh combination of winter air and blood lost. It was trying to conserve whatever heat left by curling its small body into a tight ball, but it didn’t look to be much help.

He did not expect for his morning to start out with saving an injured rabbit, but he couldn’t just leave it there to die either. Lavi turned back to where he’d left his books, delivery will have to come at a later date.

He carefully scooped up the creature with both hands. Lavi thought it might have passed out as it didn’t show signs of pain or resistant from being handled. The rabbit’s nose was still twitching, showing that it was still with the world. Good, now he needed to get help.

Can he make it in time to find Komui or would it be safer to try and fix up the rabbit back at home? Obviously Komui would be the best choice for this but Lavi doubt he’ll be able to make it there in time. But does Komui know how to treat animals? Lavi himself has had a fair share of experiences rearing bunnies when he was younger, before he and Bookman moved to where they live now, and surely there had to be books back home on rabbit anatomy.

A violent shiver in his arms brought Lavi’s attention back to the poor creature. Who knew how much time there was left for it, no good will come if he just stood there pondering about the pros and cons.

“Hang on, little guy.”

His messenger bag was hastily snatched off the ground and soon Lavi was running back to his cottage, an injured woodland creature in arm and a determined heart to save it from its end.

**...**

**..**

**.**

 

_**To Be Continued** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scoots out to post this, scoots back in to do assignments. School is really kicking my ass right now, don't be an idiot and do double majors like this dumb fool right here!!
> 
> Hopefully I can get the next chapter up in two weeks without any more delays. 
> 
> Charonic out! xoxo


	4. Things Are Not Always As They Seem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is by far the longest chapter I've written holy heck. though there's not much going on besides a bunch of friends being nerds and lavi's dorky adorable interaction with the bun he saved. ehh, might write about this length from now on to make up for the slow updates.

**Chapter 4**

**Things Are Not Always As They Seem**

**-.-.-.-**

**-.-.-**

**-.-**

 

Nothing pisses Lavi off more than when his grandfather tells him to redo a whole set of freshly restored books.

 

The old man has the nerves to choose the moment Lavi lets his guard down to break the news, it’s always when the redhead thinks he’s finally free from a long day of inhaling pungent sealant wax, and fingers only starting to regain back their feelings from all that threading.

 

It’s infuriating how Bookman would say it like a casual passing conversation. He always made it sound like he was reminding Lavi to do some mundane chore, like feeding the mare.  Lavi would of course groan and slump against the table before bracing himself mentally for another round of work.

 

Those dreadful words of “ _do it again_ ” from his grandfather would haunt him in his dreams (or rather, nightmares) for a whole week, ever since then Lavi swore to always be extra careful with books when handling them, more so when he’s out to deliver those books. Even the slightest trace of creasing would drive Bookman mad with incessant nagging, and Lavi does _not_ enjoy doing more work than necessary.

 

This time however, his concern for his clients’ books never once crossed his mind when he dropped his messenger bag on the floor of his home after he’d stormed in. Not even when they fell into a heaping pile did he spare them a second glance. The fall caused their pages to fold and squash and crinkle in ways that would have his grandfather scream bloody murder, but he cared not for that right now. Gramps can strangle him for that later.

 

The cottage shook from how hard Lavi shut the door, floors creaking as he made quick steps to his bedroom. He decided the best place to put the injured rabbit was on the softest surface he could find in the house, and his pillow easily became the chosen candidate.

 

He placed the rabbit down as gentle as he could with slightly trembling hands, a result of running on an empty stomach and his body filled with panic so early in the morning. Even after he backed away from his bed could he still feel his arms tingle. The effect only wore off when Lavi shook them with forced vigor, he had to calm down and focus.

 

The rabbit’s still alive, though barely. But there was still time to save it.

 

They’re scarce on food but thankfully the medic box was well stocked.  Lavi grabbed the wooden box out from the kitchen cabinet and ran back to his bedroom. The glass bottles shook and clinked sharply even with the thick cotton balls and gauze rolls stuffed between and underneath them, but their clanking went unheard to the focused redhead.

 

The rabbit’s shivering had died down when Lavi came back, he hoped it was because they were indoors and away from the biting cold air. He’d have to start a fire in the kitchen soon after the rabbit’s wound is tended to. With that mental note in mind, Lavi dove right into work with nimble and steady hands, starting by disinfecting the wound.

 

He watched the rabbit’s small form rise and fall in even but shallow breaths as he wrapped a thin layer of gauze over its front paw. The gash didn’t appear to be too deep now that he’s had a closer look, but it was clear the rabbit had been bleeding for quite a bit before he found it.

 

Lavi kept up with his pace, there were several faltering moments when his eyes would shift to the rabbit’s contorted face, but he quickly steered his focus back to the wound.

 

By the time he finished wrapping up the rabbit’s paw, it had long gone unconscious. Lavi hadn’t realized it until he was done putting away the remaining gauze, he was actually surprised he didn’t notice it happened while he was treating the poor thing’s wound.

 

It seemed fine for the most part now, but there was still the blood lost problem that has the redhead worrying, perhaps it might be too early to let his guard down after all.

 

But Lavi wanted so desperately to hope. Looking at the sleeping creature now, Lavi wasn’t sure if it’ll survive the night.

 

He shook his head. No matter, he’d already done this much. Mild discouragement was no reason to give up halfway, he’ll be sure to see this till the end.

 

The cold was starting to affect him, Lavi realized that the moment he stepped out of his bedroom. He shivered and brought his hands up to rub at his arms, the friction provided small amount of warmth but it wasn’t going to be enough if he was planning on staying in for the rest of the day. Winter really was drawing near.

 

Lavi readjusted the medic box’s content before storing it back in the cabinet. It was time to start that fire.

 

He only needed to add a few more chopped wood atop of yesterday’s leftover burnt ones before he dropped a lit matchstick on the pile mismatched chunks. The flame eventually grew to a large bright yellow and orange, and the room’s temperature rose to provide the whole house with comfortable warmth. But the fire’s mesmerizing growth went unnoticed by Lavi, his mind was too busy spinning on other matters.

 

He had, in better terms, so many problems at the moment.

 

Bookman had spent the night before listing out the things Lavi needed to do while he was away. There were tasks he needed to complete-a _lot_ of them too- but it looks like he’d have to reschedule everything now that he’s brought home a rabbit.

 

An extra responsibility at hand means he’d have less time hanging out with his friends in town, and _definitely_ less napping. No snooping around to find Tyki either. His shoulders slumped at the last thought.  

 

Still, one thing’s for certain. He doesn’t regret saving the rabbit, not one bit.

 

Sure he’ll be pushed back in doing some of the things that Bookman instructed him to do, and he might not be finished with them by the time Bookman comes back, and then there’s a large chance he’ll be subjected to more nagging for being a lazy, slacking slowpoke. But it’ll all be worth it.

 

The fire popped and Lavi flinched out of his thoughts, the loud noises made him take an abrupt step back. What was he still thinking so hard about? He has a rabbit to care for.

 

There was no telling when the rabbit would wake up but it wouldn’t hurt to bring out some food and water for it now.

 

He brought out a chipped bowl and a wooden plate from the kitchen cabinet, filling the small valley of the bowl with some of last night’s water. There wasn’t much left in the jug, so he made sure to salvage as much as he could to the very last drop.  Lavi made a mental note to go draw some more water up from the well later.

 

With the pantry almost empty at the moment, there wasn’t much options to be picky with food. But what remained didn’t seem suitable to feed the rabbit with, Lavi was sure pickled vegetables wouldn’t sit well for the resting creature. He’d have to go outside and see if there’s any leftover hay, and if he’s lucky, some millet. For now water should be enough, he’ll see to the hays when the rabbit wakes.

 

That’s one problem out of the way, but unfortunately there was his own stomach to worry about. And Lavi was _not_ planning on eating Bookman’s pickled vegetables today, or any time soon for that matter. He’s had them once as a child and never again would he go near it.

 

His stomach on the other hand didn’t care for what he thought, it growled on cue and Lavi placed a hand over it as though that could make it quiet down. He was really starting to feel his morning hunger now that the initial adrenaline and shock has disappeared.

 

If imagining eating pickled vegetables can still have his stomach rumbling that loud, that must mean something. Yuck.

 

He looked over to the sleeping rabbit. Should he take the risk of leaving it alone for a few hours? At least just long enough for him to rush over to town and grab some pantry essentials.

 

Then again even at his quickest on the usual route, it’d take him a few good hours before he could reach home. He wasn’t about to take the shortcut either, even though this situation calls for it... The last thing he wants is to come home and be greeted with cold grief, having the poor thing die in vain because of his negligence.

 

Lavi doesn’t know if he can handle it if that happened, he’s always been a softie when it comes to animals.

 

His hunger will just have to be dealt with pure mental strength alone then, just for today. Just till he’s sure enough to let the rabbit roam about on its own without supervision.

 

The best course of action right now is to save his energy for later. Maybe a nap will distract him from his hunger. Lavi made sure the fire was kept to a small even flame first before heading back into the bedroom.

 

His whole body felt like that horrid jelly Lenalee made one time, where it collapsed and spilled all over the floor when Allen went in a little too hard with his scooping.  He’d love nothing more than to do that too right now, just drop like a heaping pile of goo on his bed, until he remembered what fluffy little thing was currently occupying his safe haven.

 

Gramp’s cot was too small for him to even lay his torso and head down comfortably on, and there wasn’t anywhere else in the tiny cottage for him to rest. So he made the wisest decision at the moment and became Lena’s spoiled jelly pile on the hard floor instead.

 

Softly of course, if that were possible. Even if it wasn’t, he made it work, because the rabbit still slept through the muffled thump of a body dropping against solid wooden floor.

 

Lavi crawled up to the edge of his bed, his movements slow as he gently rest folded arms on the mattress. His head felt heavy, heavier still were his eyelids that threatened to close.

 

“Please be okay, little guy...” He whispered to the rabbit.   

 

He wanted to reach out and stroke the small animal but had to resist the urge, it wouldn’t be good to disturb its rest. God knows the poor thing really needed it.

 

The peaceful silence and cozy warmth was an inviting combination that almost lulled him to sleep. He would’ve knocked out right there and then had the series of quick raps on the door not happen.

 

Lavi shot up from the floor with wide eyes, his sleepiness had vanished instantly.

 

The knocks grew loud and impatient, aggressive almost. His hand went to touch the surface of his dagger’s pommel, it’s only when he was about to take a step forward did he realize he was shaking.

 

It couldn’t be gramps, the old man has his own sets of keys to their cottage. Whoever it was outside, it can’t be good news.

 

“Open up you dumb rabbit!”

 

_That voice is--_

 

_Kanda?_

 

“Lavi! Open the door, it’s cold out here!”

 

_Allen?!_

 

“Do you think he’s home?”

 

 _Lenalee!?_ If he was voicing all those thoughts out loud he would’ve seem positively similar to a squawking parrot.

 

He could hear Allen and Lenalee exchange more words, but they were all muffed out by Kanda’s (or so Lavi believed it to be Kanda’s) insistent knocks coming in quick unfaltering raps. Lavi shook his bleariness off and rushed to the door, almost ramming himself into the thick oak in the process, before he started fumbling around with the locks for a bit.

 

The door flung open wide and revealed his three friends standing outside in the cold wintry morning. He caught the sight of reddening noses on Lenalee and Allen’s face, Kanda’s skin was darker than the other two, but if he squinted he could tell the shorter male was just as affected by the cold as they were.

 

“Hey guys.” Lavi offered a meek greeting. “Um… What are you all doing here?”

 

Lenalee’s face lit into a small grin, one paired with a quirk of her brow. “You said we could come over for a visit during the weekend. And it’s Saturday.”

 

 _Oh, right._ He _did_ invite them over to hang out, but he didn’t think they would actually show up. His morning was just getting more eventful with each passing hour.

 

“I did, didn’t I? Heh, even Yu came along too!”

 

He knew Kanda’s disdain for the cold, the other boy absolutely hated winter. So to see him standing outside his doorstep looking equally pissed and miserable made Lavi believe he actually cared. Either for Allen and Lenalee’s safety or concern over him, he wasn’t all too sure. But it wasn’t unwelcomed either way.

 

He was about to make another sappy comment when Kanda snapped at him.

 

“The only reason I came out this far is to check on the traps. _Those two_ dragged me over to your house with them.”

 

“Oh.” Forget what he said about _caring_.

 

It’s a good thing he was long desensitized by Kanda’s bluntness, Lavi still offered a wide grin.

 

“Well! It’s still nice of you to drop by!”

 

Kanda responded with a cold roll of his eyes, also not a surprise. “Whatever, I’ll be back in a bit. Make sure the sprout doesn’t finish everything!”

 

Lavi glanced to the small opening in Lena’s basket, there was a thin line of steam smoke emitting from inside. Whatever it was that Lenalee had brought along with her, the smell told him his stomach would not protest eating whatever she was going to offer.

 

When he looked up, Kanda was already turned to the wood’s direction. Allen glared at the taller male’s back.

 

“It’s your own fault if you come back late, stupid Kanda!”

 

Kanda did not spare his friends another glance, though he did give Allen the finger over his shoulder while stalking off into the woods. Before long he was gone, leaving the other three behind exchanging weird looks with one another.

 

Right, he has guests now. A good host always invites their guests in instead of letting them freeze outside.

 

The redhead stepped aside from the door to make room for his friends. “So uh, come on in?”

 

Allen shot straight into the cottage before anyone else, there was burning fire inside and he does not fancy becoming a popsicle. Lenalee followed him behind shortly with an amused giggle and a shake of her head. It’s then Lavi noticed that Allen only had a thin coat on for his outerwear, he couldn’t help but let out a chortle too. 

 

This was the first time his friends came over for a visit, he realized upon closing the door. Well, sans Kanda. He left before even stepping foot inside in favour of his traps.

 

“Is it alright for him to go alone?” Lavi asked as he closed the door shut.

 

Allen returned the question with an easy shrug of his shoulders. “He’s always gone to the woods alone though?”

 

What Allen said was true though, Lavi mused. Any company would only serve to be a hindrance to Kanda. When he hunts, he wants to do it without distractions. Having people around might cause noises that could potentially scare away the woodland creatures, and then louder noises from Kanda’s angered yelling would follow and have them all scurrying far away to the other side of the forest.

 

“Ah well, it’s just… Gramps said there’s some shady folks hanging around the woods lately.”

 

Allen snorted, rolling his eyes a bit. “I don’t think a bunch of thieves and bandits can do much against Kanda.”

 

“If anything they’ll be begging him for mercy.” Lena added. And she was definitely right on that.

 

His friends made their way inside the small cottage, their steps were slow as they took their time to look around the interior of Lavi’s home. There’s not much to admire in truth, Lavi always thought his house was a bit too stuffy and cramped at times. If his friends are going to be coming over more often, then Lavi might just have to tidy up more. He smiled at the thought as turned from the door. That’s when Allen spoke up., already having entered the redhead’s bedroom.

 

“Hey, what’s that?”

 

Lenalee looked over to the bed and gasped, albeit quietly. “Oh my goodness, is that a rabbit?”

 

The girl put down her basket on the dining table before making silent steps over to the side of Lavi’s bed and crouched down right in front of the sleeping rabbit, making sure her movements and breathing did not accidentally wake it up. But it was hard to keep it down when all she wanted to do was coo at the fluffy little thing. Lavi could tell Lenalee was restraining herself from the way her shoulders shook from contained excitement.

 

“You never told us you have a pet rabbit.” Allen too crouched down to inspect it with Lena, a thoughtful look on his face as he nodded almost sagely. “Huh, guess that’s why Kanda calls you a dumb rabbit.”

 

Lavi pouted. That made no sense, he was neither dumb nor was he a rabbit. The fact Allen agreed with Kanda on something that’s meant to insult him made Lavi pout even more.

 

“That’s cuz it’s not my pet.” Lavi clarified to his friends with a huff. “I found him this morning when I was on my way to town. The poor guy was injured.”

 

His friends winced and gave the same worrying look to the rabbit, Lena asking the next question when silence followed.

 

“Will it be okay?”

 

Lavi looked to where the rabbit was, still sound asleep on his pillow. Its breathing wasn’t as shallow as before from what he can tell, so at least that’s one good sign of improvement. “I don’t know… It looked pretty beat up when I first found it.”

 

It was hard to imagine such a small thing having managed to fight off whatever animal had attacked it, Lavi felt so much better knowing he’d saved the little guy from a slow agonizing death out in the cold, and with a terrible wound to boot.

 

“You bandaged him up pretty good though. Did you clean his wounds first?” Lenalee asked.

 

Lavi nodded. “Yeah, wiped it with a damp cloth.”

 

The answer seemed to please Lenalee. She hummed and continued to inspect the wrapped paw.

 

“Well if he didn’t lose too much blood, I think he’ll recover with some rest. Be sure to give him some food and water when he wakes up, okay?”

 

And just like that Lavi felt a heavy weight lift from his chest. He’d almost forgotten that Lena has experiences with treating animals, though perhaps not as knowledgeable as her brother, but she was still capable in her own right.

 

He let out a huge sigh, and his friends immediately caught it. Lenalee offered him a comforting smile, one that told him that everything was going to be fine without any verbal exchanges. It was reassuring enough for him to return a genuine smile of his own to her. Though a small part of him was still uncertain, it helped that he had a skilled person’s opinion to put his mind at ease, even for a little bit.

 

“Yes, Dr Lee!”

 

Lenalee laughed and bounded over to where Lavi stood, giving the tall male a light smack on his shoulder before heading out into the kitchen. He heard her say something about him being ‘silly as usual’, and honestly, Lavi was so glad his friends decided to drop by today. He really needed the lightheartedness vibe from this impromptu visit.

 

“Can we play with him when he wakes up?” Allen asked.

 

Lavi shrugged, he couldn’t give a definite answer to that. “Guess it depends if he’ll wake up anytime soon today. But sure? If he’s well enough though.”

 

The bedroom door creaked and in came Lenalee with her basket, she held it up and gave it a light jiggle, the action made Allen perk up. Lavi’s mind was repeating _food, food, food, food_ like a broken record when he caught a whiff of what was inside the basket. His stomach began to rumble, there would be no need for fasting tonight after all.

 

“Now then, let’s have some snacks shall we?” Lenalee asked with a cheery smile as she flipped the lid over. “I hope you’re hungry, because I brought quite a bit today.”

 

_Bless this woman._

 

* * *

 

 

That day Lavi found out for the first time that rabbits are capable of sneezing themselves awake. And it was absolutely the best thing he’s ever witnessed.

 

He was in the midst of discussing the merits of having Bookman move closer to town when the rabbit let out the tiniest of sneezes. The three humans caught it still despite Allen’s loud munching, Lavi was the first to leave the table to where the creature laid. He practically ran over to the bedroom with over joyous vigor.

 

The rabbit’s little black nose twitched and soon its eyes followed open. Lavi was surprised to see the rabbit have yellow irises, but he brushed that small detail off in favour of more important matters.

 

He moved in closer to inspect the rabbit’s wound but the creature in turn stiffened in place when it noticed how close Lavi’s face was with its own.

 

“Easy there, little guy. You’re safe now, you’re alright.” The redhead smiled apologetically and moved back.

 

That did the trick thankfully, Lavi heaved a sigh as the rabbit relaxed its body, large eyes hooded as it too released an audible sigh.

 

The new surroundings must’ve been confusing for the poor thing no doubt, its ears flickering animatedly as it began sniffing around. Lavi let it move about in his bed, when he turned back he saw Lenalee and Allen stand behind him, both of them looking at the rabbit in awe and fascination.

 

“Well it looks like he’ll be okay.” Allen said, “He’s pretty active right now, huh?”

 

“It might just be the excitement, or curiosity.” Lenalee giggled when the rabbit almost slipped and fell out of the blanket nestling. “Or both.”

 

Allen took a step closer to Lavi and the rabbit, peering curious silver eyes down at the small creature. Lenalee joined him, but she moved in even closer until she was standing in front of the rabbit. Crouching down, she slowly reached out her hand. Her two friends watched closely for the rabbit’s reaction with bated breath.

 

The rabbit stopped moving when it noticed the girl’s hand coming closer, and to everyone’s surprise it actually hopped towards the hand and bopped the tip of Lena’s fingers with its head.

 

Lenalee let out a quiet gasp of surprise, her eyes widened as she turned to her friends. She was mouthing something along to them, Lavi thought it might have been a delighted _‘did you see that?’_

 

She took the bop as permission to touch the rabbit, and Lenalee did, though hesitantly at first in fear she might have interpreted the sign wrong. But as the fluffy creature leaned into her touch, the bolder Lena became and started to give the rabbit light scratches on its head.

 

That looked like a lot of fun, Lavi wanted so badly to have his turn next. Which reminded him…

 

“Oh! You’re probably hungry, huh?”

 

The redhead turned and left his bedroom, only to come back less than a minute later with a handful of hay that he’d retrieved from the shed some time ago, before the rabbit woke. Lenalee scooted over to the side to make room for him while her hand was still busy scratching under the rabbit’s chin. It was really enjoying all the attention.

 

Lavi chuckled at it as he crouched down to offer a few strands of the hay. “Here, lil guy.”

 

He swore his heart did a little flip when the rabbit reached up to accept the hay. It stood on hind legs and grabbed a string of the dried grass with its mouth, and at that moment Lavi felt like his entire being has been blessed.

 

“So… what are you going to do with it?” Allen asked, coming closer to stand behind the other two so he could watch better.

 

“I wanna keep him but…” Lavi paused to bite his lower lip, “I don’t know if the little guy has a family to go back to or not.”

 

“Grown male rabbits don’t usually stick around to raise kits, do they?” Lenalee said. “You could take care of him if he doesn’t want to go back into the forest.”

 

That was a very appealing idea. He would love to have a pet rabbit again, they were his one of his favourite animals, and he’s had _some_ experiences in raising one when he was a child (though it has been a long time). If Bookman was going to be leaving him alone for weeks more often now, having a pet to keep him company would be great.

 

“What do you think, little guy?” Lavi asked. “Do ya wanna stay with me?”

 

The rabbit seemed to consider the question as it actually stopped chewing on hay to look up at Lavi’s face, much to the human’s surprise.

 

“He’s quite smart, isn’t he?” Lenalee chuckled. “Like you, Lavi!”

 

“I don’t know about smarts but he’s definitely a looker. Look at how his coat shines!”

 

Lavi decided to try and see if he could hold the rabbit. It didn’t oppose to him when he leaned in closer to pick it up, so the redhead took it as an okay to continue. He gently cradled it against his chest into a careful hug, a free hand used to stroke along the fluffy black fur along its back. The rabbit was definitely enjoying the treatment with how it wiggled in delight at Lavi’s soft touches.

 

“He needs a name.” Allen said.

 

Names, names. So many options to pick, Lavi doesn’t know if he can decide on the spot. Should he get a simple, common name found in pets or something that holds more significant meanings?

 

“I think I’ll call him Soot.” Lavi said after a while. “Or charcoal.”

 

“That’s lame, Lavi...”

 

Lavi stuck his tongue out at Allen, a mature sign showing that he is indeed three years older than the Walker boy.

 

Lena unfortunately sided with Allen, her face was slightly scrunched in an obvious display of unsure. “I’m sure you can think up a cuter name than _that_.”

 

Her comment made him splutter. “What’s wrong with calling him Soot?!”

 

His friends shared a look with each other that made Lavi tap his foot like an agitated rabbit. He knew that look, it’s a telepathically linked look that means they feel the need to change their redhead friend’s mind on doing something by giving him sound advice, _which Lavi totally does not require in this situation!_

 

“I know his coat is black all over but…” Lenalee began.

 

“It’s a bit _too_ original, don’t you think?” Allen added.

 

But the rabbit didn’t seem to mind its new name, or maybe its indifference was due to lack of understanding. What’s important is the rabbit doesn’t have any objections to his choice of name for it, and that’s all that matters to Lavi , he was set on naming it Soot.

 

“You want more hay, Soot?”

 

Lavi offered a few more stalks of hay to the rabbit, but it looked like Soot was more interested in the partially eaten meat bun in Allen’s hand. Its nose twitched as it inhaled the aromatic scent from Lenalee’s homemade treat, soon it started to wriggle in Lavi’s arm in an attempt to be let down.

 

The redhead laughed at its sudden activeness. Looks like that twitchy little nose found better food to be eaten, and Lavi can’t blame it for wanting a bite when it smelt so good. He readjusted his hold on Soot and made sure to keep the rabbit steady in place, careful not to put any pressure on the injured paw.

 

“Easy there, little guy. You shouldn’t be moving too much so soon.” He leaned down to give the rabbit a quick kiss to the forehead before turning to Allen. “Hey Al, think you can spare a bit for Soot?”

 

Allen was about to take another bite of the steamed bun (most likely one that will finish the remaining half of it) when Lavi spoke, he stopped and raised a brow at him. “Lavi, you said you’ve reared rabbits before right?”

 

“Yeah, but that was when I was a snotty little kid.”

 

“Rabbits don’t eat meat.” Allen deadpanned.

 

Oh. That’s right.

 

“Well… maybe just the dough skin?” Lavi asked sheepishly.

 

He knew how greedy Allen can get when it comes to food, not even animals and their endearing large eyes can work on him, not even Timcanpy gets to have a bite unless he’s lacking appetite. He’s unstoppable like that.

 

After some consideration though, Allen gave in with a huff. “Fine, he can have some. Here.”

 

The boy tore a small bit of the steamed bun and handed it to Lavi. In which the redhead grinned as he accepted the dough skin graciously.

 

“Thanks, Al. You’re a good buddy.” He chuckled. “Here ya go, little guy.”

 

Lavi didn’t need to lower the dough skin any further than above Soot’s head, because the rabbit decided the human was too slow for its liking. So much so that it extend its upper body up to snatch the dough from his fingers, before immediately starting to munch on its new treat.

 

Allen and Lenalee burst out laughing, and even Lavi began snorting at Soot’s impatience.

 

Soot seemed to be faring well as of now, definitely _much_ better than Lavi had expected when it first woke up. He was only hoping for even the smallest chances for it to make it through the night, but instead he got a rabbit that was up kicking and displaying zero signs of fatigue after its short recovery nap.

 

Lavi smiled down at the rabbit, a few fingers massaging at the back of its neck as Soot continues to chew happily on its dough skin.

 

Things can only better from here on out.

 

* * *

 

 

They moved back into the kitchen area not long afterwards. Soot was on Lavi’s lap nibbling away on more hay while the humans exchanged light hearted conversations over some of Lenalee’s homemade steamed buns. The fillings were hearty and savoury, and the warm juicy contents inside warmed everyone up, it was just what Lavi needed after a whole morning of twists and turns.

 

This was nice, Lavi enjoys moments like these. Just being able to spend time basking in his friends’ presences, talking and laughing about silly things was enough to satisfy to him. Well, besides getting new books and drinking a hot cup of coffee, of course. He was about simple pleasures like that. Though it’d be nice if Kanda were with them right now, he’s really missing out on these steamed buns.

 

“So, anything happened today? Komui made anything weird?” Lavi asked. The more curious side of him dared him to ask about Tyki. Just in case his friends saw him while on the way over here. “Any new faces in town?”  

 

He had to suppress a grin when Lenalee nodded, though she wasn’t able to answer verbally at the moment while chewing so Lavi waited for her to finish first. When she did finally swallow, she gave him a big smile first before replying.

 

“There is, actually! This guy came to my house last night looking for brother, _and_ he’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

 

Tyki is staying with the Lee family? It couldn’t have been Tyki, right?

 

_Only one way to find out for sure._

 

“Oh?” Lavi tried again, keeping his voice as casual as possible. “Who is he?”

 

What Lenalee said next had Lavi dropping his bun right on Soot’s head.

 

“His name’s Tyki Mikk—“

 

Soot jolted from the soft tap, it let out a surprised squeal that shook his redheaded human out of his brief stupor. Lavi was quick to grab the steamed bun before it toppled over his lap and ended up down on the ground, that would’ve been a huge waste. He offered Soot an apologetic grin before turning back to Lenalee, gulping as he did.

 

“—and apparently he travelled over from the next kingdom to here because he wanted to try brother’s medicine.”

 

“He’s _sick?!_ ” Lavi yelled. He had not meant to yell, but he did and he swore the whole cottage shook.

 

His sudden outburst had the other occupants in the room flinch, including Soot.

 

Lenalee was going to continue, but Lavi’s strange behaviour made her stop to stare at him, obviously confused by his reaction, she peered at his face in hopes she could find his reason for the flustered reaction.

 

On Lavi’s side, he was trying so desperately to fight down the burning sensation on his face. He was probably bright red at this point, having pale skin made it hard to hide a blush. If anything his paleness was no doubt amplifying the reddening at that moment. How he wished he had his summer tan back.

 

Lenalee was merciful though, she didn’t question him further. The girl instead chose to continue with her story.

 

“Yes, but brother wouldn’t tell me what he has. I wasn’t allowed to listen to them either when they were discussing about his symptoms.” She sighed. “Guess it’s because Mr. Mikk needs to keep his illness a secret. He must be a noble of sorts, from the way he dressed.”

 

That sounded about right, aristocrats don’t like having personal information leaked, unless it’s something worth boasting about.

 

But that didn’t make Lavi worry any less. He can’t help but berate the man silently for being so reckless yesterday. Walking through the dark woods alone when the weather was transitioning to winter while he was sick? If someone needs to stay over at Lenalee’s place for treatment, it’s usually because they’re down with a more serious sickness, which means Tyki is…

 

_Dammit, what was he thinking?!_

 

He was frowning and didn’t even know it, that’s just how much Lavi was upset by the man’s carelessness. It was a good thing Lenalee and Allen were engaging in another topic about Komui to notice his face, but his darkened expression didn’t go ignored by Soot.

 

It tapped his wrist with a furry paw, the gentle touch managed to bring Lavi back from his thinking, and the redhead’s frown immediately disappeared upon making eye contact with the rabbit. He gave it a weak smile in hopes to reassure Soot that he was fine, he gave Soot a few long strokes along its back for good measures.

 

“--But I didn’t see him at all this morning. Brother said he left at dawn to go explore the neighbourhood. He didn’t seem too worried about Mr.Mikk’s disappearance now that I think about it.” Lenalee mused. “Maybe it’s because he’s feeling much better today.”  

 

“It’s weird how Komui would let a complete stranger from outside of town stay over.” Allen said before taking another large bite out of his steamed bun, he continued with a mouthful. Lavi’s suddenly glad Kanda wasn’t here.

 

“I’m surprised he didn’t threaten the guy if he ever came near you.”

 

Lenalee’s shoulders slumped. “Oh believe me, Allen. Brother threatened him _plenty_.”

 

Allen and Lavi blanched. They know of Komui’s threats all too well, seen him carry it out once and that one time was enough to keep them on their toes for the rest of their life. Lavi kind of felt bad that Tyki had to witness Dr Lee’s infamous protective brotherly side, though he also wished he was there to see what the man’s expression was like when it happened.

 

“Have you met him before, Lavi?” Lenalee suddenly asked.

 

Lavi jerked his head up, eyes going wide.

 

 _That_ question caught him off guard, what’s he supposed to say?

 

“Mr.Mikk, I mean. Your reaction when I said his name told me you might know him. There’s got to be a reason behind that.” Lenalee leaned in closer, menacingly. “And don’t even _try_ to lie.”

 

Lavi gulped and pulled Soot to his chest. Maybe if he used the rabbit as a shield she’ll let him off?

 

“Umm… Yeah, kind of. Sort of…” He mumbled.

 

When he looked up again, he saw that Lenalee had an eyebrow raised in high suspicion.

 

Now’s definitely a good time to use Soot as a fluffy fur shield, he held the rabbit up against his chest. No one can resist the power that’s vested within an innocent woodlands creature.

 

Except for Lenalee, an unfortunate discovery for Lavi and his current situation. She kept her gaze stern and hard, like a mother silently demanding her child to tell the truth, and Lavi found himself gulping another lump in his throat.

 

“Well actually…” He began. “I bumped into him on the way home yesterday. Like, in a literal sense. Knocked me down on my butt.”

 

Lavi laughed softly at the recalled memory. He started to fiddle with his hands, fingers going to massage Soot’s floppy ears while the rabbit looked upwards to watch him, it seemed intrigued to what Lavi was saying.

 

“But yeah, he was on his way to town when I met him. Said he needed to meet with someone, and I guess that person was Komui. It’s weird how he chose to go through the woods instead of taking the path. You’d think an aristocrat would know better than to take a dangerous route.”

 

“Lavieeeee…” Lenalee’s tone was drawled in a bad way, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Did you take the shortcut yesterday when we specifically told you _not_ to?”

 

_Uh oh._

 

“Busted.” Allen said lowly.  

 

Lavi could feel himself starting to sweat bullets, the wetness on his forehead came too quickly for his liking. He gulped heavily and forced himself to grin, hoping that he could smile his way out of this whole mess.  

 

“Uh... I-I can explain! I was just—“

 

He didn’t get to finish his sentence when a loud slam rang across the cottage.

 

Everyone yelped when the front door slammed itself open against hard brick walls, it bounced off but rattled violently due to the outside wind blowing in. Lavi jumped out of his chair with Soot still secured in his arms as he whipped around. Shoot, he forgot to lock the doors after Lenalee and Allen came in!

 

But thankfully it wasn’t a dangerous intruder.

 

Kanda came storming in, his face a look of fury crossed with what could only be described by Lavi as fright. To most people perhaps they’d only see the obvious anger but the other three knew something spooked their friend.

 

“Yu, what’s wrong?” Lavi got up from his seat to meet Kanda halfway at the door, Allen and Lena following shortly.

 

He was met nose close to a distorted mess of metal scraps and rope. Lavi’s eyes widened and crossed at the broken metal trap that Kanda was dangling in front of his face.

 

“My traps were dismantled. _All of them_.” Kanda spoke again, his voice heavy with exhaustion and hinted with something else. Something dark and the slight pause before he continued only made the tension inside Lavi’s cottage grow heavier than ever.

 

“They were all found in the same condition.” The shorter male gave his broken trap a harsh shake. “Whatever destroyed them was not small.”

 

It was one of Kanda’s sturdier leghold traps that he uses for bigger animals. Winter always is a difficult time for hunters to work their fill what with most of the woodlands creatures gone into hibernation, having to spend hours outside the freezing cold in hopes to even catch a sight of something to bring home wasn’t too ideal for their health either. But sometimes there’ll be sightings of deer and foxes dashing around the white sheeted ground, hence the favoured use of leghold traps.

 

The newly patented ones that Kanda and the rest of the Tiedoll family have been using were improved by Daisya for a stronger grip and more durability. So to see how one of those strong metal traps looked so beat up now…

 

This cannot be the work of some rabbit or squirrel.

 

Lavi felt Soot go still in his arms, looking down he saw that the rabbit was staring directly at Kanda’s trap. It wasn’t shaking or showing signs of aggression or any other reaction in general, it was just… staring.

 

“Do you think maybe those people your grandpa warned you about did it?” Allen asked.

 

The boy started to poke at the dangling chain, it was definitely torn loose with force. No animal that big and powerful that existed in the forest came in mind as they tried to figure what the culprit is.

 

“What kind of idiot would go wreck perfectly functional traps?!” Kanda asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if they just took them and sell them off for money?”

 

He had a point. There was absolutely no good reason for them to do destroy something both valuable and useful, if anything they could’ve taken Kanda’s traps and use them for their own hunting needs. Lavi shrugged, there’s only one other possible explanation for this.

 

“Well if it’s not the work of a person, then it has be some animal from the woods. That’s really the only logical explanation.”

 

“But then… what could have done _that_?” Allen eyed the jumbled metal scraps as though it would come alive at any moment to attack.

 

The woods are a place for hunters to bring home fur and meat to earn their fill, it was where berries and wild greens grow in abundance for anyone to pick and eat to their heart’s content. For as long as the townsfolk here know, there’s only harmless herbivores and the occasional agitated buck living in the forest, but aside from that the seasonally aggressive male deer being a threat, it was a relatively safe place.

 

So to imagine something big, something ferocious lurking in the dark woods at this very moment, hiding in the darkness of thick trees…

 

The four humans felt a chill crawl up their spine like a parade of spiders, leaving them feeling disturbed and frozen in place. The fire inside Lavi’s cottage might as well not have been lit with how everyone’s teeth were clattering.

 

Worry and fear were written all over Lenalee’s face, Allen and Kanda stood next to each other in silence, the former was biting his lower lip in obvious distress and though Kanda’s body language showed no signs of nervousness, it was clear he was just as affected by this like the rest.

 

For whatever reason, an image of Tyki flashed into Lavi’s mind, and the redhead instantly felt himself relax.

 

The man was smiling at him with sincere openness. But despite the dazzling smile, Lavi’s focus was mostly on how his hazel eyes looked like molten gold. Tyki Mikk looked relatively harmless until Lavi’s eyes spotted the tail that was swishing around behind his legs. _What?_

 

Could the culprit have been… Tyki? The Tyki whom Lavi believed to be something not human?

 

Just when he thought the silence was becoming unbearable, Kanda spoke up, effectively stopping Lavi’s head from sprinting into a flurry of headache inducing thoughts.

 

“Well whatever it is, I’ll get Marie and Daisya’s help to search the forest tomorrow.” He scoffed and crossed his arms. “The sooner it’s caught, the sooner we can go along with our lives in peace.”

 

Lavi had to smile at that. Gruff and dismissive as it seemed, but it was the other boy’s way of reassuring his friends.

 

And it worked. The tension quickly faded after Kanda spoke, Lenalee let out a sigh, it seemed like she’s been holding her breathe for a while. Beside her, Allen visibly relaxed as the warmth from the fire place gradually returned to cover their bodies like a blanket of secured comfort.

 

The redhead offered Kanda a thankful smile, but Kanda was too busy acting disinterred to see it. It’s then Lavi took notice of a small brown sack dangling from Kanda’s belt, it looked soaked.

 

“Hey Yu, what’s that?”

 

Kanda raised a brow at Lavi’s question. When he saw that the redhead was staring at the sack, he sighed. “They’re just clams from the pond, at least the cages underwater aren’t touched.”

 

Ah, so that’s why it’s all wet.

 

He watched Kanda as the other male proceeded to shove a hand into his pants pocket, revealing a good handful of cranberries when he brought it back up. “And I found some of these on my way back. You can have them.”

 

Lavi widened his eyes when Kanda extended his arm towards him, urging him to take the berries.

 

“Thanks Yu!”

 

Kanda narrowed his eyes at the nickname as per usual, but his threat this time lacked its venom. “Call me that again and I’ll do something mean. Like shoving your face into snow.”

 

Soot let out a loud, displeased squeak immediately after Kanda made his threat known.

 

“What the heck is that?” Kanda asked, turning his face to the agitated rabbit.

 

“It’s a rabbit, Kanda. You’d think a hunter would know what animal he hunts.” Allen said with a snicker which earned him a glare from Kanda.

 

“I know that, you stupid sprout. But why is it here?”

 

Lavi pat Soot’s head to soothe whatever was agitating it, it stopped baring teeth shortly after, but the rabbit’s body remained tense.

 

“Found him just this morning actually, the poor guy was hurt. I think he was attacked by a big animal but he managed to escape, had a pretty nasty wound on his paw though.” Lavi used his forefinger to lift Soot’s bandaged paw up. The rabbit allowed it without any struggle.

 

Kanda leaned in to look, his eyes inspecting the rabbit’s injured paw before moving to its entire body from ears to tail.

 

“Never seen a black rabbit around here before.” Kanda paused, his eyes squinting as he continued. “Are his eyes… _yellow_?”

 

Allen leaned in to look at Soot too. “Yeah, Lavi. They’re pretty bright too.”

 

That can’t be right, can it? Lavi turned Soot around so he could take a look himself. The rabbit laid in his hands lax as Lavi lifted it up closer to his face to inspect, it simply laid there on its back against the redhead’s palms while looking into Lavi’s eyes with its own intrigued pair.

 

Sure enough Kanda and Allen were right, Soot really does have yellow eyes. But if Lavi were to be more specific (or more poetic, if he would), they appeared more honey golden, dark and rich, deep and soulful.

 

They were really, really pretty.

 

“Oh, right! Lavi, you said you’re out of food.” Lenalee suddenly piped up.

 

She turned back to the table and picked up her basket. Lavi gasped when Lenalee handed it over to him without warning, he was glad to have Soot already transferred over to one hand before the basket was unceremoniously thrust to his direction so he could catch it.

 

“Take these! There’s only three of them left but hopefully they’re enough to fill you until morning.”

 

Lavi could’ve cried right there and then.

 

“Thanks, Lena! Oh wow, you don’t have to give me this much…”

 

The size of each buns were larger than his fist. He’s already had one earlier, but according to Allen, they don’t all have the same filling. Remembering that made Lavi remind himself not to salivate, and knowing how Lenalee cooks, they’re bound to be packed tightly with loads of delicious fillings. Was it too much to hope one of them was filled with juicy lamb meat?

 

“The stupid rabbit can have these too.” Kanda said as he extended the soaked bag to Lavi, he frowned seeing how his redheaded friend’s eyes practically lit up.

 

“Thanks, Yu! Aww I didn’t think you cared—“

 

“If you die from starvation in the middle of the night no one’s going to care for the other rabbit.” He gestured to Soot with a nudge of his chin. “The one that’s not dumb like you.”

 

Forget what he said about caring.

 

“That’s mean…” Lavi muttered, feigning hurt.

 

Kanda scoffed, at least he tried to. It changed midway into a snort instead, followed by an amused eye roll. Lavi was not amused by his reaction, Kanda was making fun of him!

 

To his surprise and mild annoyance, Lenalee had to cover her mouth to hold in an oncoming flurry of muffled giggles. Allen just started laughing outright as though he was having the greatest fun of all times with the others, his smile was so wide Lavi thought it might hurt.

 

Seriously, what were his friends so amused about?! They were all scared half to death just earlier about some unidentified animal in the woods, and now this?

 

And yet… here he was, feeling the tale tell signs of a laugh churning in his throat, his confused annoyance towards his friends quickly fading as that feeling rose. He tried to fight it down, tried to keep a stern face and pout, but even he ended up snorting and ultimately gave up his irate mask in favour of laughing along with his friends.

 

He began to stroke Soot’s chin with his fingers, giving it a nice scratching under his cheek pouch every now and then. The rabbit was looking up at him, and Lavi could’ve sworn the little guy was quirking a brow but he dismissed it.

 

Rabbits can’t make many expressions, after all.  

 

The four friends then spend another hour or so chatting about various things in the little cottage tucked away so far from town and so close to the dark forest.

 

This morning really has become quite eventful for Lavi.

 

* * *

 

 

In the end, there wasn’t much that Lavi got done that day.

 

The pantry was still empty (not counting the ominously dark jar of pickled vegetables of course), and there was a pile of books sitting on the kitchen stool waiting to be delivered home. Lavi tried his best to smooth out the wrinkled pages, but they didn’t go back to their initially perfectly pressed form even with his hardest effort, at least the creases weren’t as visible anymore. The redhead grimaced, he only hoped the owners won’t do a throughout inspection on the spot.

 

Tomorrow he _has_ to get all the books delivered, otherwise people might start talking about how the ever so punctual Bookman family was a day late with returning their books. Townsfolk were just gossipy like that, and it wouldn’t do to have them spread unsavoury rumours about Bookman.

 

Despite everything that’s happened that day, it wasn’t all wasted, Lavi doesn’t think. A rabbit’s life was saved, and he got himself a pet. A fair exchange.

 

The clams that Kanda gave him were made into bland watery soup for dinner, the taste was lacking but the hot broth managed to warm him up. He really wished he could have gramp’s cooking from the night before right now. Why must his stomach decide to find its appetite again when there was hardly anything for him to eat? At the very least, the handful of cranberries filled him when he started to turn peckish again an hour ago.

 

Soot was making himself comfortable on Bookman’s pillow by the time Lavi came into the bedroom, the redhead had moved it from its little towel nestling on the dining table to his grandfather’s cot where it was much warmer.

 

But also, this was the first time Lavi had spent a whole full day without Bookman around, he’s not afraid to admit that it’s a bit unnerving to sleep alone. Hopefully he’ll be able to sleep better tonight knowing he has a furry creature in the same room as him.

 

Soot had had its fill of water and hay during dinner, its paw checked and bandaged a third time that night and with no signs of an infection. With everything all fine and well, it was time for Lavi to hit the sack.

 

He wanted to cuddle with Soot in his own bed like how he did with his previous pet rabbits, but until the injuries are fully healed and Soot is back in top conditions, he’ll have to refrain the urge to smush his face into that fluffy belly for now.

 

Lavi went to lie down on his bed. Or rather, he flopped in the least graceful manner possible against the thin mattress. His nightstand shook from the slight tremor, and so did Soot, but it out of surprise instead.

 

“Heh, sorry about that.”

 

He watched as Soot jumped down from Bookman’s cot and hopped his way to Lavi’s side.

 

“Did I scare ya?” Lavi asked as he extended an arm down to the floor. The rabbit leaned in and began sniffing at his fingers.

 

He didn’t mind it when Soot jumped up onto his bed, albeit surprised by the swift and graceful movement. One would think an injured rabbit might need more rest before it could hop this high, but the redhead allowed Soot to move around in his space freely anyway. Eventually Soot went to rest on Lavi’s chest, large yellow eyes staring into the humans’ own pair.

 

“What’s the matter, little guy?” Lavi asked.

 

There it was again, the staring. Lavi blinked but otherwise did not move, he was in a comfortable position with a soft rabbit on his chest giving him a curious look.

 

Honestly, it was hard to believe Soot was like any run of the mill wild rabbit with how it was looking at him right now. It was as though Soot was trying to figure Lavi out like some cryptic puzzle. Perhaps to a rabbit’s level of intelligence, maybe the redhead was an enigma for the small creature.

 

Then he was kissed on the nose, by none other than Soot.

 

It came out of nowhere, not that Lavi minded, but he was still slightly taken aback by the sudden gesture. He figured it was maybe the rabbit’s way of thanking him for saving its life. The redhead smiled and returned a kiss to Soot’s twitching nose.

 

He watched the rabbit slowly close its eyes, looking so content and at peace just lying there on the human’s chest. Lavi could only imagine the relief Soot felt knowing it was still alive and safe away from the outside dangers of being hunted.

 

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” The redhead gingerly picked up Soot with both hands and got off his bed. “I have to get up early and deliver some books tomorrow. If you’re feeling better I can bring you along with me. I’ll put you in my hood, it’d be like a carriage ride for ya!”

 

He placed the rabbit down on Bookman’s mattress just as gently as when he picked it up, making sure Soot’s back paws touched the surface first before letting it go.

 

“And then I can show you around the town for a bit, maybe get you some of Miranda’s famous pear pie. But you’re only allowed the pear, okay?”

 

Goodness, he's really starting to sound like a parent.

 

Lavi crouched down to meet the rabbit’s eye level and reached out a hand to stroke at Soot’s head. He really loves how soft rabbits’ furs are, and this fellow’s coat feels exceptionally good to touch. Lavi stayed there for a bit, just silently observing how Soot made itself comfortable on Bookman’s bed. He let out a quiet giggle when the rabbit wiggled its butt around before settling finally down.

 

It really was too _gosh darn_ cute for Lavi to handle. The redhead couldn’t stop himself from giving Soot more affectionate pets on his head, laughing softly all the while. “Maybe after we’re done with all the running around, I can show you off to Tyki too.”

 

The rabbit stiffened right after Lavi had said that, the sudden rigidness of his body did not go unnoticed by the intrigued yet confused redhead. Lavi withdrew his hand slowly as he blinked at Soot.

 

Soot returned Lavi’s stare with large wondrous eyes as it looked up to him. Somehow, for some reason, Lavi felt like the rabbit was waiting for him to continue and elaborate on what he just said. The curious look on its face certainly gave him that assumption. But also, Soot doesn’t know who exactly is Tyki. The rabbit’s only met Allen, Lenalee and Kanda today after all.

 

Lavi sighed. He’s already well aware of this little crush of his, it didn’t make sense to him either, he barely knew the man and yet here he was yearning for a chance talk to him again. Sure there was also that curious itch that’s just egging him to check under Tyki’s coat for any tails, but that played little to no part in his infatuation.

 

“I was gonna try and see if he’s in town today but I ended up taking care of your fluffy little butt instead.” He gave a poke on the fluffy nose, smiling when Soot scrunched up his nose. “But I’m glad I found ya…”

 

Then he gave the rabbit a kiss on the forehead. And then another, and then another, and another…

 

He stopped when Soot’s body began to tremble, Lavi thought perhaps the rabbit was annoyed with his kisses but it actually turned out to be… laughing? At least that’s what Lavi _thought_ it was doing. The way Soot had his eyes closed and the soft rumbling in his chest was similar to how a human would suppress an amused laughter. Lavi was sure rabbits can’t smile, they simply lacked the muscles do so. But with the way Soot’s cheeks were lifted and the corner of its mouth curling up, he didn’t know what else to call it.

 

Soot had only been in Lavi’s life for half a day but the redhead’s completely charmed by it, he really hoped Soot wouldn’t mind living with him for the rest of its days. But if the rabbit wanted to leave and return back to the wild after it’s all healed up, Lavi won’t stop it from doing that.

 

“If you stay—If you _want_ to stay, I promise I’ll take good care of you.” The softness in his voice made Soot look up.

 

Lavi in turn chuckled at the rabbit’s tilted head. He got up from the floor and picked up Soot with his hands, holding it up at arm’s length and giving it a wide, cheesy grin. 

 

“If you choose to remain by my side, I--Lavi Bookman Jr—will promise to do everything in my capability to keep you safe from harm, provide you the best care any good owner could give, and make sure you’re always in good health for as long as I breathe.” He declared, sounding positively dramatic. More so when he lifted Soot even higher, as though the rabbit were some highly valuable prize that Lavi would treasure forever; a perfect analogy.

 

Lavi’s embarrassment only kicked in a few seconds later, shortly after when he saw that Soot did nothing but blink at him, its body rigid in midair.

 

The redhead slowly lowered Soot down to his eye level and he hung his head low, a mortified sigh left him as he started to feel his face heat up. His little theatric declaration _may_ have been a bit too cheesy.

 

“Gosh, that was so weird…”

 

Soot had to tap the back of Lavi’s hand to get his attention back, in which the redhead did, and he offered a crooked grin when his eyes met Soot’s again. He brought the rabbit in closer to his face and gave it a quick kiss on the nose.

 

“Aaaaah, forget that happened. Now I feel like a total dork.”

 

He’d forgotten that rabbits don’t understand English, or any human spoken languages for that matter, and so his embarrassment only worsened when Soot continued to stare blankly at him. The redhead hung his head low a second time, sometimes he wonders why he’s the way he is.

 

Soot must’ve noticed Lavi’s sudden change of mood and decided to cheer him up by licking his chin. The peppering light kisses accompanied by soft fur and whiskers tickling along the lower side of lavi’s lips made the redhead laugh from the rabbit’s sincere affection.

 

“Alright, bed time for real now.”

 

Lavi lowered Soot back down onto Bookman’s cot, making sure to keep his handling as gentle as possible. The rabbit was placed right in the middle of the thick pillow, the sides puffed up from its weight and Lavi had to chuckle at the sight. The pillow looked like it’s about ready to devour Soot whole in its entire feather stuffed, puffy glory.  

 

Stifling a yawn, Lavi trudged his way back languidly to his own bed and threw on two more quilts over his body after he’d gotten on. He blew out the candle next, signaling the end of the day.

 

The bedroom darkened in an instant, with only the smell of snubbed candle smoke and soft breathing filling in the room’s silence, along with the bright moonlight illuminating inside through the frosty window being their only light source. The cottage too settled like its two living occupants, tonight its creaking wasn’t as loud even with the wind blowing hard outside.

 

Lavi was out like a light within minutes. But Soot didn’t fall asleep until he was done looking at the redhead’s peacefully sleeping form. The rabbit’s eyes softened and cheeks lifted, making it look as though it was smiling.

 

“Goodnight Soot...”

 

Soot’s ears perked and twitched at the mumbling human. Lavi was definitely asleep, suppose he’ll have to get used to a sleep talking human from now on if he’s going to stay here. Still, the rabbit’s form shook lightly with silent laughter at today’s turn of events.

 

Now how was it going to explain to Lavi that he’s just made a pact with a familiar?

 

_**...** _

_**..** _

_**.** _

 

_**To be continued** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all I basically word vomited most of this, please excuse the grammar and spelling mistakes. Anyway I'm gonna go knock out after this is posted. nighty night


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